By Jenica Foster
Many people see social media as a distraction or escape from their boring job, but not Jenna. She views it as a way to connect and foster community with Albertans. Jenna Matthews is a digital marketing and social media manager at Energy Efficiency Alberta. She starts every work day by scrolling through the company’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn accounts to monitor performance and respond to comments or queries.
Title: Digital Marketing & Social Media Manager
Company: Energy Efficiency Alberta
Tenure: 1 year, 2 months
Degree: Bachelor of Arts – International Relations and Political Science
“From a community management perspective of running social accounts I think it’s so important to be super engaged and responsive. For example, on our Instagram account we get pinned in a lot of solar installs or energy efficiency things, so sharing that content helps create a really cool community around energy efficiency in Alberta,” Matthews says.
Energy Efficiency Alberta has only been around for about a year and a half, which means it still has that fast paced, startup feel. Matthews says she has a pretty diverse role that includes looking after content creation, the company’s website, social media platforms, the blog, running ad campaigns, and developing creative work. One of her top priorities this year is launching a new website.
The role isn’t without its challenges. Amidst managing multiple projects, innovation must always be a top priority.
Matthews says, “There’s a huge component of staying on top of new trends, new ways that we can make our digital marketing innovative. Everything from what we should be tweeting out to what Twitter campaigns we should be doing. I spend a lot of time researching what’s trendy right now in digital and I think it’s super important that you keep marketing fresh; that’s what really can set you apart from competitors.”
The digital world also never sleeps. At the end of the work day, Matthews says she always reviews content scheduled to be posted that night, noting the time so she can check engagement and inform customers in a timely manner.
Despite the occasional after-hours work, Matthews says she finds her job rewarding, “From a social media/digital standpoint, it’s really rewarding when you go on Twitter or log onto Instagram and you can see Albertans reaching out and sharing how we’ve impacted their lives.”
Success in a role like this is defined by the early adopters; flexibility and adaptability are key to staying on top of trends and tactics. Those who value that age old “we’ve always done it this way” adage will likely have a tough time in the profession Matthews says, because “every day there’s new trends, there’s a new way to connect with people on social and digital, so you really can’t get attached to tactics because they might change in a month or a week.”
To see examples of Jenna Matthews’ work, connect with Energy Efficiency Alberta on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
